Bundesliga Round 26 Results: Wasteful Schalke punished by Nurnberg

By Chris Kvesa

Borussia Monchengladbach's European hopes were boosted as Eintracht Frankfurt's poor run continued against Stuttgart

WOLFSBURG 1-1 FORTUNA DUSSELDORF

Wolfsburg were forced into a share of the points with Fortuna Dusseldorf after being held to a 1-1 draw by at the Volkswagen Arena on Friday.

The hosts carved out several chances as they pushed for an early goal, but Ricardo Rodriguez's effort from 25 yards out smashed off the right post in the 19th minute.

Later on, a rare Dusseldorf counterattack was enough to break the deadlock minutes before half-time, with a cross by Robbie Kruse brilliantly volleyed in by Mathis Bolly.

In the second half, parity was restored by Ivica Olic, who picked up a through-ball by Yohandry Orozco and sprinted into the opponents' danger zone. The Croatia star prevailed against the Dusseldorf defence and expertly stroke the ball past a stunned Fabian Giefer.

With the result, both teams remain locked to the bottom half of the table.

NURNBERG 3-0SCHALKE

Schalke slipped out of the top four after slumping to a 3-0 loss to Nurnberg in Bavaria.

Die Knappen created several big chances in the beginning stages of the encounter, with both Julian Draxler and Jefferson Farfan looking lively.

However, it was the hosts who opened scoring in the 30th minute, when the referee overlooked Markus Feulner controlling the ball with his hand, leaving the midfielder to tap home within the penalty area.

Later on, Alexander Esswein scored Nurnberg's second goal, finishing a brilliant counterattack by striking the ball into the right-hand corner.

In the 87th minute, Mike Frantz controlled an excellent through-ball by Hiroshi Kiyotake and rounded Timo Hildebrand to seal the three-nil success for the hosts.

The victory allowed der Club to defend their 11th spot, while the Gelsenkirchen side missed the opportunity to solidify their grip on a top-four place.

HOFFENHEIM 0-0MAINZ

Relegation-threatened Hoffenheim held Europa League hopefuls Mainz to a goalless draw at the Rhein Neckar Arena.

With both teams struggling going forward, the visitors had more clear chances throughout the encounter. Skipper Nikolce Noveski hit the post with a header in the 16th minute.

Midway through the second half, a Zdenek Popech shot from distance hit the outer post.

Although Hoffenheim remain locked to the 17th position after the result, they can be satisfied with a point against a rather inefficient Mainz side.

HAMBURG 0-1 AUGSBURG

Ten-man Hamburg were handed a 0-1 defeat by relegation-threatened Augsburg at the Imtech Arena.

Netherlands star Raphael van der Vaart's absence due to a fever was just the start of a string of unfortunate events for the northern German team on Saturday.

The deciding goal arrived early on, when Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker headed past Rene Adler after an indirect free kick from the right.

Later on, controversy struck when the hosts had a goal from Heung-Min Son ruled out for offside. A red card for Maximilian Beister for a vicious foul in the 80th minute wrapped up a miserable day for die Rothosen.

Hamburg slipped off to seventh and lost their Europa League qualification spot, while Augsburg remain 16th.

WERDER BREMEN 2-2 GREUTHER FURTH

Two Aaron Hunt penalties rescued a point for Werder Bremen against relegation-doomed Greuther Furth.

After a goalless first half, a spot kick enabled Hunt to secure the lead for the home side, as he coolly slotted the ball in.

The Bavarians equalised soon after, however. Stephan Furstner stood freely near the long post when he picked up a cross, and he was able to score via a tap-in.

Then, the visitors temporarily turned the match on its head, when Thanos Petsos fired a free kick past an overwhelmed Sebastian Mielitz.

And finally, Hunt stepped up once again for a second Bremen penalty, which he placed into the bottom corner of the net in the second half.

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 1-2 STUTTGART

Eintracht Frankfurt's bid for a top-four finish took a blow when they lost 2-1 to Stuttgart at the Commerzbank Arena.

Around the quarter-hour mark, Stefan Aigner ended the Hessian side's 521-minute goal drought by working a fantastic pass by Pirmin Schwegler into the back of Sven Ulreich's box.

At the beginning of the second half though, the visitors restored parity after Arthur Boka was felled within Frankfurt's penalty area and Vedad Ibisevic stepped up to calmly slot the ball past Kevin Trapp from the spot.

And despite Frankfurt's dominance for the remainder of the match, the guests were able to turn the match. Out of nowhere, Georg Niedermeier headed the ball in after a corner in the 70th minute.

Following their success, Bruno Labbadia's men move up to the 12th position of Germany's top flight.

BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH 1-0 HANNOVER

Borussia Monchengladbach got their bid for a Europa League place back on track by recording a 1-0 win over Hannover at Borussia Park.

Die Fohlen looked more hungry to claim the lead, and Juan Arango and Luuk de Jong both recorded good opportunities early into the match.

In the 36th minute, De Jong got his goal. Patrick Herrmann sent a brilliant through-ball to the Dutchman, who found an opening in Hannover's defence, which allowed him to finish neatly from near the penalty spot.

Meanwhile, the visitors saw Sergio da Silva Pinto wander off the pitch for his second yellow card after openly questioning the referee's decisions on two occasions.

For most of the remaining match, Lucien Favre's men focused on defending, and were able to close out the match and move up to seventh.